Interviews

Financial trading made me a millionaire by 25 – but it was lonely

Mann spoke with Real Business and offered insights on the Business Class lifestyle she leads thanks to her successes in property and financial trading.

As the founder of wealth education provider Fortune Academy, Mann draws upon her financial trading experience and helps to coach those who want to escape the nine-to-five, just as she once did.

She revealed that at the young age of nine is when she wanted to unlock the door to a life better than the one that surrounded her in the family home, which had its share of problems.

After graduating university, she used her optometry degree and begin working in the field, but that was short-lived as her inner nine-year-old aspirations remained intact.

Moving into the below market value area of property, Mann quickly started earning £40,000 per property three times a week, which built up to a multi-million pound portfolio, with which she was able to support her parents.

A millionaire at 25, Mann had an enviable bank balance, but decided there was room for improvement and moved into financial trading in 2008. An amateur, she turned £5,000 into £30,000 within a month, but also experienced lows, losing £200,000 in two days.

Unwinding with Coco, her pet Maltese terrier

With a fortune of £200m in her late twenties thanks to financial trading, Mann is now 35 and remains as ambitious as she ever was, driving forward Fortune Academy and living the high life while doing it.

Offering the details on lessons she’s learned and how she spends her time, and money, Mann said that part of her will still panic about her bank balance.

(1) Were you born into wealth?

No. I saw my father suffer emotionally being an employee of his brother who was makingall the money. They were in the car exhaust manufacturing business in East Africa.

(2) How much did your first job pay?

£28-30 a day doing telesales for Staybrite Windows, and then data entry for DVLA theory test examinations.

Mann’s most expensive purchase was her £202,000 Bentley GTC Speed

(3) You have achieved success in property and financial trading. Which has been the most lucrative market for you and why?

Financial trading because I made so much money seemingly doing nothing. For example, while casually sitting in a sports cafe in my gym post workout, I made £9,000 from financial trading in just two hours while having a shake.

(4) What has business ownership taught you about money management?

Don’t spend all your earnings – I spend no more than five-ten per cent at max. The rest I reinvest into my business or invest into new financial investments, such as property or other business startups.

(5) You were a millionaire by 25 – how did that feel and what’s the first thing you bought?

Very lonely because no one else I knew of my age was remotely near my wealth status. I had few friends and all my business colleagues were older by at least 15 to 20 years.

I always was a petrol head from a young age and found the easiest thing to spend on was a car, so I bought a Mercedes SL55 AMG.

(6) Do you get more satisfaction from spending or saving your money?

Saving – knowing I probably never will have to ‘panic’ about not being able to afford something I really need one day.

I guess this is because I have had many moments where I had no funds to finance my life when younger. The panic of that has driven me to make sure it never happens again.

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(7) What’s the most exciting element of running a business?

The freedom to create a business that helps me become the person I wish to be. For me that means being an inspirational leader to others striving to build wealth into their lives.

I can help inspire others every month through my events I hold in London every month. I can then joint-venture with some of my great students who then become my business partners when it comes to, for example, creating an app that we will be launching into the market very shortly.

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Real Business has championed entrepreneurship in the UK since 1997. It is now the main source of inspiration, education, and collaboration for the owners of fast-growing businesses, from startups to mid-market companies. Real Business provides readers with high profile interviews, news, insight and industry benchmark reports, as well as a growing stable of events tailored to SME growth.